The invention relates to a device for the variable division of a motor vehicle boot and for securing the loaded cargo using guide rails arranged on the boot floor and pivotable supporting panels.
Depending on the use to which the motor vehicle is put, the cargo to be carried in the boot varies widely in respect of the number of individual items and their shapes and sizes. In particular in everyday use, often only relatively small items, such as shopping bags, briefcases etc. are carried in the boot, and take up only part of the boot space. Unsecured cargo of this kind tends to slide around or even tip over in the boot as the vehicle is accelerated when moving off, braked, or driven round bends, which, if the cargo being transported is heavy or fragile, can easily lead to damage to the cargo or even to the motor vehicle.
So-called "non-slip mats" are commercially available, which are placed on the floor of the boot and are intended to prevent the cargo being displaced during travel. Such non-slip mats are effective only for cargo of certain shapes, sizes and weights, however, and only at relatively low acceleration values. Even with these non-slip mats, the cargo cannot be prevented from tipping over.
Boot inserts are also commercially available, with which the boot can be divided fixedly or variably. These inserts essentially comprise a frame or a fixed base plate, which can be placed on the floor of the boot or secured thereto, and on which divisions, such as dividing walls, wire brackets or similar constructions are arranged. These inserts either form fixed divisions, and are therefore suitable only for needs that always remain the same, such as exist, for example, in the professional field, or allow only a limited number of variations for dividing the space. Since a division of the boot according to individual requirements is therefore not possible or only possible with considerable effort, these known boot inserts are unsuitable for everyday use.
When not in use, these inserts take up a relatively large amount of space, even when they are constructed partially to collapse or fold away, and therefore have to be taken out of the boot every time a larger space is required. Access to the spare wheel, which is usually housed in the floor of the boot, is frequently also obstructed by such inserts, so that when changing a wheel first of all the insert has to be taken out of the boot.